Run and Guillaume Singelin Expand the Groundbreaking Graphic Novel Universe Behind the Animated Feature Film by Studio 4C and Ankama
The Raucous Road Trip Starts on Kickstarter Now!
In partnership with France’s Label 619,Oni Press and Magnetic Press – the Eisner Award-winning publisher celebrating prestige graphic novels from around the globe since 2013 – are proud to announce the Kickstarter campaign for LOBA LOCA, a new graphic novel set in the MFKZ Universe from internationally acclaimed creators Run (MFKZ)and Guillaume Singelin (PTSD). With Luchadores, lunatics, and long-buried secrets lurking around every corner, LOBA LOCA is a high-octane odyssey of self-discovery. Fans can support the graphic novel on Kickstarter now.
Spinning out of Guillaume “Run” Renard’s 2002 short film “Mutafukaz: Operation Blackhead,” MFKZ has grown into the hit Netflix film from Studio 4C (All You Need Is Kill, Tekkonkinkreet) directed by Shôjirô Nishimi and Renard and starring English language voice actors Vince Staples (The Vince Staples Show), Kenn Michael (Saints Row), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), Danny Trejo (Machete), and RZA (Wu-Tang Clan) as well as a groundbreaking graphic novel series. Now Run is teaming up with renowned animator and cartoonist Guillaume Singelin to return to the fan-favorite MFKZ Universe and expand it with a one-of-a-kind road trip in LOBA LOCA.
Rebellious seventeen-year-old Guadalupe “Guada” Mayflower is just trying to survive the mundane misery of school bullies and social media scandals. But when an explosive, caught-on-camera outburst lands her under house arrest, she starts digging through her mother’s attic and unearths a diary that shatters everything she thought she knew about her family, including the true identity of her infamous father. Guada soon finds herself on a dangerous road trip through the city’s criminal underbelly. From legendary luchadores to ruthless underworld figures and reality show stars, she must navigate a world of violence to confront her past and define her future.
“From the hyperactive imagination of both Run and Guillaume Singelin comes a wild ride that expands the world introduced in MFKZ, tearing it open to expose a beating, human heart. Filled with Run’s signature combination of pulp-inspired grunge and Singelin’s uniquely cinematic, evocative illustration, LOBA LOCA is a trip you’ll want to go on again and again.” says Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing, Mike Kennedy. “Merging the two creators’ styles turns the road trip trope on its head and separates itself from the exaggerated, often bizarre world of MFKZ and its conspiracy-filled environment by focusing on the grounded drama of teenage alienation and the search for identity amidst a surreal, oppressive urban backdrop.”
In addition to the softcover edition of LOBA LOCA, Magnetic Press is also producing a Deluxe Hardcover and a Limited Edition Slipcase Edition, which will feature a foil-stamped textured slipcase, foil-stamped bookplate, and an exclusive set of enamel pins. Fans can support LOBA LOCA on Kickstarter. For more updates on Magnetic Press, visit them on X, Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram
About the Creators
Guillaume “Run” Renard is an accomplished animator, director, and writer. His stories tend to focus on social outcasts dealing with modern concerns such as terrorism, the quest for identity, ecological issues, and the radicalization of youth. His first animated short, Mutafukaz: Operation Blackhead (2003), was selected at Sundance and provided the basis for his larger Mutafukaz universe. Not only has he written and drawn over 600 pages of comics exploring the world of MFKZ, but he also created or co-created numerous other projects within the studio setting he curated, known as Label 619. Following the completion of the final volume in the Mutafukaz series, he adapted the title into the animated feature film, Mutafukaz (2017), co-directed with Nishimi Shojiro of Studio 4C. The film had its world premiere at Annecy International Animation Festival to rave reviews and has since been translated for English audiences by GKidz, released on numerous streaming networks in the United States, including Netflix, as MFKZ.
Run is currently working on a new, sequel series, MFK2, while continuing to foster and develop other projects for Label 619, including the horror anthology LOWREADER.
Guillame Singelin was born in Rennes, France, in 1987, and grew up inspired to draw by Disney comics and manga. While studying graphic design at EPSAA, he was approached by writer Antoine Ozanam (KLAW, Temudjin) to work on a retelling of the David and Goliath story in “King David,” revised to be a contemporary mafia tale. But comics weren’t what he originally imagined doing, so he joined the animation team at Ankama to work on the feature film MUTAFUKAZ, based on the Label 619 comic series by Label founder Run. It was during this time Guillaume dreamed up THE GROCERY, a madcap combination of cartoonish characters in a gritty urban setting much like “The Wire.” That unique recipe found fans, and he soon began contributing more and more work to the growing portfolio of Label 619, including stories for DOGGYBAGS, MIDNIGHT TALES, and the Mutafukaz spinoff, LOBA LOCA. His first full-length graphic novel to be published in English was the dense post-war drama PTSD, which not only refined his unique balance of cartoony characters in gritty situations but cemented his reputation for thoughtful and multi-layered storytelling. His manga-inspired character designs pop out of realistically rendered environments to come to life. From that experience and exposure, he was tapped by DC to create a handful of Batman backup stories (in Urban Legends and DC Vampires). Aside from comics, he continues to work in other fields, including video games, producing illustrations and character designs for titles such as the celebrated, multi-platform game CITIZEN SLEEPER.